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Latest Newspoll gives Gillard a lift

Maybe Julia Gillard's week spent in Sydney's western suburbs wasn't quite the disaster it was painted because the latest poll shows she is back in the lead as preferred prime minister and Labor's primary vote has lifted.

The Newspoll, conducted over the weekend and published in The Australian on Tuesday, showed Labor's primary vote had improved three percentage points in the past two weeks to 34 per cent.

And the poll revealed Ms Gillard's support as preferred prime minister jumped six points to 42 per cent as support for the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott slipped two points to 38 per cent.

The primary vote for the coalition fell three points to 44 per cent, with the Greens steady on 11 per cent.

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The Australian said that based on preference flows at the 2010 election, this translates into a two-party preferred lead for the coalition of 52 per cent to 48 per cent, which is down from a 10-point gap two weeks ago.

The poll could quell further talk of Ms Gillard being replaced as leader, even though the survey indicated that former prime minister Kevin Rudd would be a far more popular leader than Ms Gillard.